Youth 4.0 Makes its Debut in Hong Kong

Hong Kong-wide Survey Reveals
Young People's Perspectives Towards Sustainable Development Goals for the City

HONG KONG, CHINA - Media OutReach - 13 September 2018 - According to
the latest survey* commissioned by the Hong Kong chapter of the United Nations'
(UN) Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN Hong Kong), Hong Kong's
young people at the age of 15-30 believe that combating climate change, using affordable
and clean energy, and eradicating poverty are the top three most important Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) for Hong Kong. These are closely followed by having a healthy lifestyle, building a peaceful and inclusive
society with justice, and eradicating inequality and discrimination.

More than nine in ten survey
respondents (93.5%) express their willingness to support "sustainable development",
with a majority of them indicating positively that they would support
initiatives relating to the environment. This includes waste recycling and
reduction (47.8%) and conservation of power and water (30.9%). Additionally, close
to four in ten respondents (38.7%) believe that their companies and schools
have not done enough on sustainable development.

Close to seven in ten respondents
(68.7%) have heard about "social enterprise" or "social innovation". Over six in ten respondents (61.8%) also find social
enterprise to be a viable means to promote sustainable development through
business behavior.

The survey reflects Hong
Kong young people's perspectives on the UN's '2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development', the
SDGs, as well as the concept of social entrepreneurship and social innovation.

The survey, entitled 'Hong
Kong Youth's Opinions towards Sustainable Development', is part of a Hong
Kong-wide initiative, Youth 4.0, which kicks off today. Youth 4.0 aims to
promote youth development on social entrepreneurship and to increase awareness
of the UN's SDGs amongst young people in Hong Kong. This initiative is the
cross-sector collaboration among the academia, business and government,
featuring a strategic partnership between Youth
Co:Lab and the Hong Kong Social
Enterprise Challenge (HKSEC).The
former is a partnership between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
and the Citi Foundation while the latter is organized by The Center for
Entrepreneurship of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and sponsored by
the Home Affairs Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region.

Youth 4.0 is also
supported by its sustainability partner -- SDSN Hong Kong, co-hosted by CUHK and
the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, established to mobilize expertise
and resources to address the SDGs in Hong Kong.

Youth Co:Lab, co led by
UNDP and Citi Foundation, aims to establish a common agenda for Asia-Pacific
countries to invest in and empower youth to accelerate implementation of SDGs through
leadership, social innovation and entrepreneurship. In
addition, the event also encourages an inclusive environment for youth
innovation and entrepreneurship, which is in line with the objectives of the
SDGs and Youth Development Strategy for Hong Kong.

"We are
here to support young people. While we do not doubt the ability of young people
to lead innovation, we know that the systems that have been conceived for their
economic or social empowerment often fall short. We will only be able to work
for the good of the region's social entrepreneurs if we solidify our
partnerships. We have to realize that driving this from the regional scale,
including the partnership between Citi Foundation and UNDP, and leveraging the
benefits of country level networks, and initiatives will be crucial to this
success." said Beniam Gebrezghi, Programme Specialist of Youth and Civic
Engagement at the United Nations Development Programme Bangkok Regional Hub.

Speaking at the launch
ceremony, Mr. Wayne Fong, Head of Corporate Affairs, Citi Hong Kong, said, "We are honored to collaborate with the Youth 4.0
partners to engage young people in Hong Kong to address social challenges and
unemployment. Through Youth 4.0, it is our hope that by providing an ecosystem
conducive to youth-led social entrepreneurship and innovation, we will harness
youth leadership, and empower them to identify solutions to pressing social
challenges and any unemployment issues that they are facing."

Another integral part of
Youth 4.0 is the Hong
Kong Social Enterprise Challenge
which is organized by The Center for Entrepreneurship of CUHK and sponsored by
the Home Affairs Bureau of the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region (SAR). The first and longest standing inter-collegiate competition of
its kind in Hong Kong, the Challenge comprises a unique combination of
education, competition and incubation components for the participants and
offers overseas exposure for the winners.In the past 11 years, HKSEC has brought about 1,248 social venture
plans, with 7,304 participants from 45 institutions engaged. 2018 HKSEC is open
for registration and a series of training and coaching sessions has started from
September 2018 onwards. The finale presentation will be held in March 2019.

Professor Elsie Tsui,
Project Director of Hong Kong Social Enterprise Challenge added, "Hong Kong
Social Enterprise Challenge has been a leading platform to help local young
people address social problems through entrepreneurial means. Through the
years, we have given the local youngsters various types of support to launch
their meaningful social ventures. This year, we are excited to be a part of
Youth 4.0 initiative, which enables the young local social entrepreneurs to
further expand their horizon and meet fellow social innovators across Asia."

* The survey, conducted
by the Centre for Communication and Public Opinion Survey of CUHK,polled a total of 504
respondents, aged 15 to 30, via telephone between July 19 and August 7, 2018.

Photo
captions

Youth
4.0, a cross-sector collaboration among the academia, business and government,
kicked off today. Youth 4.0 aims to promote youth development on social entrepreneurship
and to increase awareness of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals
amongst young people in Hong Kong. Officiating guests at the launch event were
(from left):

Mrs.
Cecilia Lam, Director, Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change of the Chinese
University of Hong Kong and Network Manager, United Nations Sustainable Development
Solutions Network Hong Kong

United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP)

UNDP works in about 170 countries and
territories, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, and the reduction
of inequalities and exclusion. We help countries to develop policies,
leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities and build
resilience in order to sustain development results. This is a critical time for
the world. At UNDP, we see this period as a huge opportunity to advance the
global sustainable development agenda. In September 2015, world leaders adopted
the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to end poverty, protect the planet
and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. We support countries'
efforts to achieve the new Sustainable Development Goals, or Global Goals,
which will guide global development priorities through 2030. UNDP focuses on
helping countries build and share solutions in three main areas: Sustainable
development; Democratic governance and peacebuilding; and Climate and disaster
resilience. In all our activities, we encourage the protection of human rights
and the empowerment of women, minorities and the poorest and most vulnerable.

The Youth Co:Lab project is run out
of the Effective Governance team at UNDP's Bangkok Regional Hub for the
Asia-Pacific. Additional information can be found at: http://www.asia-pacific.undp.org/.

Citi Foundation

The Citi
Foundation works to promote economic progress and improve the lives of people
in low-income communities around the world. We invest in efforts that increase
financial inclusion, catalyze job opportunities for youth, and reimagine
approaches to building economically vibrant cities. The Citi Foundation's
"More than Philanthropy" approach leverages the enormous expertise of
Citi and its people to fulfill our mission and drive thought leadership and
innovation. For more information, visit www.citifoundation.com.

Hong Kong Social
Enterprise Challenge (HKSEC)

The Hong
Kong Social Enterprise Challenge a social venture startup competition organized
by the Center for Entrepreneurship of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, has
been at the frontier in educating students and the general public about social
enterprises in Hong Kong since 2007. Through a structured competition model,
HKSEC encourages students to employ a creative entrepreneurial approach to
solve real world social issues.

The Hong Kong Chapter
of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Solutions Network

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and the Hong Kong Jockey Club
Charities Trust join hands to co-host the Hong Kong chapter of the SDSN. Under
the umbrella of the global SDSN, SDSN Hong Kong seeks to mobilize expertise,
information and resources from academic, philanthropy, government, business and
nonprofits to address the most pressing environmental, social and economic
issues in Hong Kong and advance sustainable development. More details of SDSN
Hong Kong can be found at:http://sdsn-hk.org/en/